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Investors came back from the long weekend ready to buy as the S&P 500 closed above the 1900 level in impressive fashion. Nevertheless, many analysts and TV pundits still point to the number of reasons why stocks should not be this high and can’t go higher.

The environment has also been difficult for individual investors as the choppy action in the S&P 500 and the wide swings in the Nasdaq 100 have made them difficult to trade. Clearly, the broad market has been in a non-trending mode, but it is still possible to find and buy stocks that are trending.

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Last Thursday’s preliminary reading on 1st quarter GDP was worse than expected at -1.0% but stocks still closed the day higher, further confounding the market bears The final reading for the 1st quarter will be released on June 25, and I would not be surprised to see it revised upward.

Certainly, buying the averages at current levels has too high a risk, in my opinion, as one needs to use a very wide stop. However, there are quite a few stocks that appear to have just bottomed and look attractive on a slight pullback. Three such consumer stocks were discussed last week in Betting on the Consumer.

Still, there are many investors who are uncomfortable with individual stocks especially after the recent wild earnings seasons, which has driven both fundamental and technical analysts nuts. For example, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) reported that it lost less than expected and its stock finished the day up 5.75%.

The summer months are typically even choppier but after the last five months this may not be the case this year. Still, summer is a time for many to focus on their families and not worry about their investments. Those who decided to sell at the start of May may be wondering if they should get back in as the S&P 500 has gained almost 2%.

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In this week’s column, I will be focusing on using a dollar cost averaging approach to establish positions in three very diverse ETFs. This is a good approach for those who are not invested in the stock market, as well as those who would like a lower stress investment strategy during the summer months.

In August’s A Contrary Bet for 2014?, I recommended this approach for the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) starting on September 3. Six equal investments were made every three weeks (see arrows on the chart) with the final investment made on December 17.

Of course, the advantage of this approach is it makes it less likely that one will buy at the market high, which often happens to individual investors. With the reinvestment of dividends, the position is now up almost 18%. The chart is now looking quite bullish, so it may indeed turn out to have been a good contrary play for 2014.

A similar strategy was recommended on January 10 in either a S&P 500-tracking ETF or fund. The amount invested will depend on how much exposure you want to have in the equity markets and also how you personally react when the Dow Industrials has a daily drop of 100 or 200 points. We are likely to have several such days before the end of the year, and if such a drop is going to ruin your summer vacation, invest less.

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For those who are not invested in stocks at all, a 30% commitment to these three ETFs does not seem unreasonable. That would be 10% in each fund that would be made up of five separate investments every three weeks. Starting on June 2, subsequent investments would be made on 6/23, 7/7, 7/28, and 8/18.

All of these three ETFs have been recommended previously and the top choice is the Vanguard FTSE Europe (VGK). As indicated on the chart, it has a current yield of 3.75%, which is better than a 30-year US T-Bond and has a low expense ratio of 0.18%.

This data is courtesy of Morningstar, which has a wealth of information on VGK, as well as the other ETFs. For example, it has a total of 505 stocks with the largest position a 2.65% stake in Nestle SA ADR (NSRGY). The chart shows a well-defined bullish trading channel (lines a and b) and the OBV broke out to the upside in February. The quarterly pivot resistance is at $63.16.